As the teachers strike entered a third day, there was no letup in the intensity of union rhetoric and no sign of a breakthrough on the issues separating the two sides and keeping 350,000 students out of school.
“There has not been as much movement as we would hope. There’s been — let’s put it this way — centimeters and we’re still kilometers apart,” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said during a late afternoon break in talks.
Much of the day was spent going over how teachers would be evaluated, and according to Lewis, while the two sides may have nudged slightly closer, it’s an issue unlikely to be resolved soon.
“There’s some back and forth, but we’re still miles apart,” she said, referring to teacher evaluations that dominated talks Tuesday. “This is actually ideological that has been turned into a very complex problem.”
When talks broke up after more than 10 hours, Chicago Public Schools board President David Vitale said the district made a comprehensive revision of the proposal rejected by the union Sunday.
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“We said to them we would appreciate a written comprehensive response, either to the proposal or a comprehensive proposal of their own,” Vitale said. “And when we receive a written response or a written proposal, we will sit down and meet with them.”
Talks are set to resume at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday stuck to his line that the strike was “avoidable” and reaffirmed his stance that principals should have the right to select teachers for their schools. A recall policy for teachers who have been laid off because of school closings is another key dividing point.
“I don’t think downtown should be in the business of selecting teachers,” Emanuel said at Tarkington School of Excellence in Marquette Park, where teachers were picketing outside. “Local school principals should select if you’re going to hold them accountable. It’s just like holding a coach accountable for a team’s results. They create the team.”
The fiery attitude of teachers evident in the months leading up to the strike showed no sign of abating Tuesday as thousands of CTU members filled Daley Plaza outside City Hall and marched toward Chicago Public Schools headquarters. They carried signs that read “Recall Rahm” and wore red T-shirts with hand-drawn messages like “I’d rather be teaching.”
Lewis joined the rally outside CPS and shot down suggestions by district officials that the two sides were inching closer to a deal, while also renewing her challenge to Emanuel and others who’ve led the city’s school reform efforts.
“The assault on public education started here. It needs to end here,” Lewis said, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.
Lewis took a swipe at Emanuel’s handpicked school board, saying, “I’m not afraid to say that we care about our children and we have more in common with our children and our parents than we do with these rich people that think they know best.”
As she left the rally, Lewis told the crowd “I’ve got to go back to the silly part of my day. … Y’all continue to have fun. Show each other some love.”
Vitale later took issue with that, while not mentioning Lewis by name.
“They were told to keep going and have a party and have fun — to have fun while 400,000 kids are out of school that they should have been teaching,” Vitale said. “This is not the behavior of a group of people that are serious about the interests of our children. It is time to get serious.”
Many teachers at the rally talked about how chaotic their lives have been since Lewis announced late Sunday that the district’s latest contract offer would not be accepted and that teachers would strike. Since then, it’s been long days marching in front of schools and in downtown rallies.
“This is hard work coming out here day after day,” said Jataun Williams, a veteran special education teacher at a South Side elementary school. “You worry about your kids and what they’re doing while you’re away.”
Erin McDuffie, a first-grade teacher at Coles Elementary Language Academy, took a moment from Tuesday’s rally at Daley Plaza to rest her feet. She is 71/2 months pregnant and said the marching was taking a toll.
“I teach and live in the Far South Side and then to come all the way up here for the rallies. It’s a long day, but I’m willing to do it,” said McDuffie, who was joined by her husband.
With schools shut down, some teachers brought their sons and daughters to the rally, giving them a “firsthand lesson on what democracy looks like”, said Daley Academy teacher Jason Davis, who brought his 12-year-old son.
Union leaders have long pushed for a recall policy for teachers who’ve been laid off because of school closings, consolidations and turnarounds. They say many quality teachers work in lower-performing schools and need the protection of a recall policy so they can continue their careers.
On Sunday, CPS negotiators said they had presented a plan that would make teachers who are laid off eligible to be hired at a new school. The proposal also included provisions to allow teachers to take three months of severance pay or enter a pool that will guarantee them at least an interview for a new teaching job within the district.
The union says this does not go far enough.
“Job security is really important to me because I’m at an age where, what am I going to do, get another career?” said Williams, who has taught in CPS for 10 years. “I worry about that.”
Lewis said negotiators did not address the recall policy Tuesday and that she is growing increasingly frustrated by the slow pace of contract talks. In 10 months of negotiations, CPS and the union reached agreements on only six of 49 articles in the teachers contract, Lewis said.
The teachers strike continued to draw attention across the country. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a former CPS chief, released a statement urging a quick resolution.
“I hope that the parties will come together to settle this quickly and get our kids back in the classroom,” Duncan said. “I’m confident that both sides have the best interests of the students at heart, and that they can collaborate at the bargaining table — as teachers and school districts have done all over the country — to reach a solution that puts kids first.”
Tribune reporter Kristen Mack contributed.
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